LoveSudbury campaign launch at Sudbury on Show

Sudbury on Show this year was hugely successful for the Sudbury Society. Our stand looked marvellous. In fact, some of us thought it was the best one there! We certainly had a lot more visitors than last time, and plenty of people who engaged us in conversation, wanting to know more about our work, and our opinions on the various topics that we have struggled with over the last year. As you can imagine, the bus station cropped up frequently.

Many thanks to all of you who helped or offered to, or even just popped past to see how we were getting on. Particular thanks must go to Rosemary Woodward, who stayed at her post all day; to Anne Grimshaw, who split herself between Sudbury Ephemera Archive and the Sudbury Society; to Stephen Thorpe, who did the afternoon slot, and to members Peter Woodward and Bob Andrews who helped to pick-up display panels, boxes and various other paraphernalia from Friars’ Hall and, having brought it all to St Peter’s, wrestled with the display stands – no easy task.

Robin Drury deserves special thanks for a specialist job: designing and ordering the beautiful roller-posters which stand about six feet high and announced the Society’s presence in no uncertain terms! Badges and fridge-magnets were a new venture for the Society and proved to be eye-catching and effective.

We signed up five new members and generated a lot of interest. We had our photographs taken (several times!) including by the Suffolk Free Press and had a visit from – among many others – James Cartlidge MP, Dan Wheals, the new Horticulture Project Co-ordinator for Sudbury, and the Tidy Town Team from Hadleigh who were keen to talk us through their work.

Several of us handed out Andrew Phillips’ questionnaire asking what people liked and disliked about Sudbury. He himself stood outside the Church door for the best part of the afternoon in a bitter wind, handing out as many as possible. A heroic effort so let’s hope there are plenty of constructive replies.

The Society’s LoveSudbury campaign was officially launched at Sudbury on Show. LoveSudbury is an initiative by the Sudbury Society to bring awareness to the growing need to combat lack of care in our town. Some of this is due to government cuts to local authorities which means there is less to spend on cleaning and tidying. Some of it is anti-social littering. If we take pride in where we live by paying attention to small details – litter, plants, cleanliness – and doing something about it, it will make a tremendous difference. Making our environment pleasant reflects on what we are as a community so that we benefit both visitors to Sudbury and ultimately ourselves.

The Society’s stand at Sudbury on Show was ‘buzzing’ all day. There was a really positive ‘feel’ about our LoveSudbury project and the work of the Society, so let’s push forward!